A brilliant emotionally wrenching new novel from the author of Atonement & Amsterdam Fiona Maye a leading High Court judge renowned for her fierce intelligence & sensitivity is called on to try an urgent case For religious reasons a seventeen-year-old boy is refusing the medical treatment that could save his life Time is running out She visits the boy in hospital
- an encounter which stirs long-buried feelings in her & powerful new emotions in the boy But it is Fiona who must ultimately decide whether he lives or dies & her judgement will have momentous consequences for them both